This invention relates generally to the powering down of a computer system, and in particular to the powering down of a computer system incident to reception of an emergency notification over a network.
As the usage of computers has pervaded almost every aspect of life in modern-day society, the importance that they do not become damaged in the case of an emergency such as severe weather, flooding, or a tornado has correspondingly increased. Besides the replacement of a vast investment of computer equipment that may be required if the equipment is damaged in such an emergency, the delay in getting the equipment back online can be costly for businesses, municipalities, and even homes. Therefore, when a potential emergency condition is impending, the prudent course of action is to turn off the computer equipment until the emergency situation has passed.
Current technology reacts to actual emergency conditions, which may provide insufficient time to prevent damage to computer equipment. For example, surge suppression systems that turn power off to a system when a power surge of a sufficient magnitude is detected do not allow for a controlled shut down. Because the power surge is an immediate threat to the computer equipment, there is not sufficient time to warn an operator of the equipment of the emergency, nor is there sufficient time to initiate a controlled shut down sequence that may involve the backing up of data, etc. Data loss may thus result in the case of shut down by a surge suppression system.
There is a need, therefore, for the powering down of a computer incident to reception of an impending potential emergency condition that overcomes these shortcomings. There is a need for such reception that provides sufficient time to provide for the controlled shut down of the computer equipment which is in danger of damage due to the emergency condition. That is, there is a need for sufficient time to permit the backing up of critical data prior to shut down, after reception of an impending potential emergency condition.
The above-mentioned shortcomings and needs are addressed by the present invention, which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification. The present invention describes a computer having an emergency protection program. The program receives a notification of an impending potential local emergency from an external network site, and turns off the computer in response. Because the program turns off the computer in response to the notification of an impending potential local emergency condition, as opposed to a local emergency condition currently happening, the invention provides sufficient time to properly turn off the computer. That is, the invention provides sufficient time to back up data before the computer is shut down.
Other embodiments include a method according to the present invention, as well as a computer-readable media having a program stored thereon to cause a suitably equipped computer to execute a computer program, also according to the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the impending potential local emergency comprises an impending potential local weather emergency, such as a thunder or lightening storm, and the external network site from which notification is received is a site on the Internet. Still other and further aspects, advantages and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by reading the following description.